Date of Degree
2025
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Jacqueline Mac
Committee Members
Gudrun Nyunt; Matthew Ison
Keywords
student parents, medical students, role strain, role conflict, students with children, parenting students, graduate students
Abstract
This narrative inquiry examines the stories of medical students with children and how they manage and balance the demands of their roles as students and parents. Participant stories were used to illustrate the daily lives of medical student parents, highlighting some of the challenges and choices student parents face. Major themes that emerged relating to the needs of medical student parents include: the tools they use to balance their roles, how family status influences their academic and professional choices, how the structure of medical education impacts their experiences, and stigmas they face as a parenting and/or non-traditional student. This study indicates that additional supportive services would benefit medical student parents; implications for both practice and research are both addressed in this study
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Rafaj, Laura, "Graduate Students in Medical School: Navigating Their Roles as Students and Parents" (2025). Dissertations of Practice. 63.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/63
